Attention Ontario lottery players: check your tickets — but not for a winner. You may be holding a bogus entry that can't win a prize.
It's not a huge amount of tickets but there's another new controversy surrounding the beleaguered Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. The OLG has been forced to issue a public notice about a recall of 92 tickets sold over a wide area of the province. The reason? They have the wrong date on them.
The tickets in question center on a series of the organization's most popular lotteries, including 52 from Super 7, Lotto 6/49, Lottario and Payday, and another 40 from Pick 3, Daily Keno and Pick 4.
The first batch was scheduled to be drawn between Wednesday and Saturday. The latter three were picked on Monday and all the entries were purchased between 2pm and 5pm at 41 outlets around Ontario — including the GTA.
The affected areas locally include Toronto, Milton, Oakville, Oshawa, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Hamilton.
What happened? "During routine, scheduled computer server maintenance, an error in the testing process caused the wrong draw date to be printed on 92 of 563,639 tickets sold," a statement explains. "These 92 tickets are null and void."
Anyone trying to claim a prize on the tickets will cause the lottery terminal to freeze, prompting a response from an OLG rep. The tickets in question are listed below, and the Corporation will issue a replacement or a refund.
It's not the first time this kind of controversy has plagued the organization in charge of Ontario's games of chance.
Back in January, a Brampton steelworker ignited huge controversy when he thought he'd won $135,000 on some misprinted Fruit Smash cards. Thomas Noftall eventually received an undisclosed settlement for the error, and declared himself satisfied, indicating he wasn't a winner.
In December 2007, the OLG paid four people more than $1.4 million each after a Mississauga vendor allegedly claimed the jackpot for himself three years earlier. The Corporation aided the OPP in the probe.
And an Ontario Ombudsman's 2006 report about lottery retailers claiming more than their fair share of prizes put the original black eye on the Corporation, which was forced to usher in a new set of rules to protect consumers.
While many still play, others say they no longer trust the integrity of the system and have refused to take part in any of the draws.
And just last month, the OLG came under criticism from Deputy Premier George Smitherman after the group chose to give away 22 Mercedes Benz cars as casino prizes, even as the domestic auto industry struggles to survive in Ontario and North America.
The OLG insists this latest incident is a rare glitch, noting it's done the responsible thing by immediately bringing it to the public's attention.
A spokesperson for OLG told local news media that none of the tickets already drawn were winners.
Recalled/Void Tickets And Where They Were Purchased
The Ticket Control Number is a 22-digit figure located in the middle of the ticket just above the signature line.
City | Ticket Control Number | Product |
---|---|---|
Mississauga | 11112-0220-0838-1391-64793 | Keno |
Richmond Hill | 11112-5589-7858-0932-64082 | Lottario |
Etobicoke | 11112-6356-1735-0993-26435 | Lottario |
Toronto | 11112-0659-0467-0696-52182 | Lotto 6/49 |
Kitchener | 11112-0665-6003-0632-01001 | Lotto 6/49 |
Mississauga | 11112-1629-0566-0678-28041 | Lotto 6/49 |
New Liskeard | 11112-1635-5846-0687-52166 | Lotto 6/49 |
Belleville | 11112-1925-0435-0676-19978 | Lotto 6/49 |
Niagara Falls | 11112-2160-9474-0685-45426 | Lotto 6/49 |
Milton | 11112-2337-8947-0694-55577 | Lotto 6/49 |
Oakville | 11112-2344-4483-0630-31094 | Lotto 6/49 |
Mississauga | 11112-2344-5251-0605-65174 | Lotto 6/49 |
Sudbury | 11112-2658-7399-0653-32186 | Lotto 6/49 |
Lancaster | 11112-3071-8983-0668-58172 | Lotto 6/49 |
Niagara Falls | 11112-3307-8790-0652-26513 | Lotto 6/49 |
Oshawa | 11112-3419-5458-0616-26790 | Lotto 6/49 |
Mississauga | 11112-3432-7554-0681-55560 | Lotto 6/49 |
North York | 11112-3832-4994-0633-63219 | Lotto 6/49 |
Toronto | 11112-3839-0274-0642-23105 | Lotto 6/49 |
Hamilton | 11112-4015-9235-0603-48400 | Lotto 6/49 |
Toronto | 11112-4022-4771-0636-10908 | Lotto 6/49 |
Oshawa | 11112-4331-4183-0687-43234 | Lotto 6/49 |
North York | 11112-4573-0054-0689-04997 | Lotto 6/49 |
Kenora | 11112-5274-9827-0675-58754 | Lotto 6/49 |
Hamilton | 11112-5281-4851-0660-59815 | Lotto 6/49 |
Mississauga | 11112-5700-9923-0613-38517 | Lotto 6/49 |
Hamilton | 11112-6008-9351-0601-06003 | Lotto 6/49 |
Sudbury | 11112-6264-4998-0612-03317 | Lotto 6/49 |
Mississauga | 11112-6428-3655-0676-54207 | Lotto 6/49 |
North Bay | 11112-6434-9959-0684-22394 | Lotto 6/49 |
London | 11112-6663-4502-0693-48202 | Lotto 6/49 |
Toronto | 11112-1484-8515-0440-50471 | Ontario 49 |
North York | 11112-5576-4487-0411-23451 | Ontario 49 |
Arthur | 11112-6703-5394-2035-45433 | Payday |
Vaughan | 11112-0685-3383-1058-44461 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-0691-8919-1091-44526 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-1419-3411-1007-62551 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-1425-8947-1040-30194 | Pick3 |
Milton | 11112-2862-2082-1039-59678 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-4042-2151-1062-32154 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-4048-7687-1095-12515 | Pick3 |
Toronto | 11112-4546-7906-1078-37615 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-4776-2179-1011-47893 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-4782-7715-1044-41055 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-5307-7767-1022-23505 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-6041-7795-1068-54580 | Pick3 |
Vaughan | 11112-0030-0290-2507-41311 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-0266-0099-2570-28081 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-0455-9874-2591-34312 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-0685-4403-2548-53835 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-0691-9939-2581-08623 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-1000-0135-2544-41644 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-1006-4903-2505-36749 | Pick4 |
Longlac | 11112-1183-6422-2530-39642 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-1190-0166-2589-51517 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-1715-2002-2516-43460 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-2134-6306-2591-59185 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-2364-0835-2548-34707 | Pick4 |
Toronto | 11112-2678-6055-2593-13651 | Pick4 |
Toronto | 11112-2862-1318-2580-51042 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-2868-7110-2540-64216 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-3098-0871-2522-55216 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-3288-1414-2518-56076 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-3393-4338-2520-33352 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-3393-5106-2592-40499 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-4540-3142-2536-20752 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-5071-6930-2548-00439 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-5491-1746-2574-00891 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-5727-1043-2589-65014 | Pick4 |
Toronto | 11112-6035-0727-2504-02891 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-6225-1014-2573-58095 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-6637-9782-2518-05419 | Pick4 |
Vaughan | 11112-6644-6086-2526-40821 | Pick4 |
New Liskeard | 11112-0993-3319-0839-53026 | Super 7 |
Etobicoke | 11112-1918-1827-0840-19058 | Super 7 |
Sudbury | 11112-1931-6227-0830-06234 | Super 7 |
Mississauga | 11112-1931-6483-0854-22141 | Super 7 |
Etobicoke | 11112-2166-5538-0800-24368 | Super 7 |
Etobicoke | 11112-2173-1074-0833-38941 | Super 7 |
Toronto | 11112-2665-6263-0804-29014 | Super 7 |
Mississauga | 11112-2901-5046-0886-50326 | Super 7 |
Georgetown | 11112-3090-7143-0848-21051 | Super 7 |
Etobicoke | 11112-3319-9878-0849-56506 | Super 7 |
Mississauga | 11112-3596-4931-0819-52404 | Super 7 |
Etobicoke | 11112-3852-0834-0854-36432 | Super 7 |
Lindsay | 11112-4350-2087-0843-23846 | Super 7 |
Mississauga | 11112-4350-2343-0867-39992 | Super 7 |
Hamilton | 11112-5524-0450-0895-25152 | Super 7 |
Penetanguishene | 11112-5713-1011-0810-14501 | Super 7 |
North York | 11112-6009-0375-0891-05320 | Super 7 |
Mississauga | 11112-6257-9718-0894-02258 | Super 7 |
Kenora | 11112-6441-5239-0887-38413 | Super 7 |
Source: Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
Certainly not enough time is available for these paid customers to receive this "replacement or a refund" (very few folks read the newspaper or lottery sights such as this fine on in order to "get the message'), the first drawings are today after all!!! Since the corporation already has the "Ticket Control Numbers," why don't they simply pay their confused computer programmers overtime in order to link these tickets to the date they were intended for? That way any winners can claim locally and not "cause the lottery terminal to freeze"!!! That's what computers are for, to save time and instantly update real time, duh!!! If the corporation won't reprogram their computers with this custom issue, then I think that any winners should sue ... it's the only way these lotteries will start hiring a higher caliber of computer programmers who know how to program BIG PICTURE style ... we need COMPLETE thinkers (bordering engaged obsessive/compulsive) to become computer programmers.
Watch that ticket from North Bay win. It would probably be the only big winner in the history of North Bay...if only the ticket were valid...
With the amount of money the lottery corps are making, they need to get their system sort out by the best computer genius in the world to prevent such disapointments from the players.
Yet another reason why I refuse to play any lottery games in Canada...too confusing, too many dishonest convenience store clerks, and too many problems.